Intel adds another socket to the lineup, 800MHz FSB notebook processors and much more

Intel just announced its plans
through Q2'07 for mobile platforms. The new roadmap includes many details
about the upcoming 65nm Merom processor, also called Core 2 Duo for
notebooks. Merom, the successor to Yonah, will come in two main waves, or
"refreshes."

The first refresh, expected this August, will primarily be used for the Napa
Centrino platform already available. The second refresh of Merom is slated for the
Q2'07 launch of Santa Rosa Centrino -- the eventual successor of the Napa Centrino platform. AMD is also using the Santa Rosa code name, but
for a completely unrelated Opteron Socket F processor due
this July. Intel
first announced details of Santa Rosa at the Intel Developer Forum
this past March. Intel's roadmaps do not confirm the use of Robson NAND
technology, although it was outlined during the forum earlier this year.

The initial batch of 65nm Merom processors, part of the Core 2 Duo family, will
run on a 667MHz front side bus. The second batch will use an 800MHz front
side bus and another new socket design: Socket P. At the heart of this
Santa Rosa platform is the Crestline series core logics. Crestline is
essentially the same as Intel's 965 chipset, but specifically tailored for
notebooks and low power applications. Like the 945 chipsets shipping in
Napa platforms, Crestline will have a "GM" and "PM"
component; one for integrated graphics and one without, respectively.

The Centrino platform will get a new WiFi chip to replace the 3945ABG chipset
used in Napa platforms today. The chip, dubbed Kedron for now, will
integrated 802.11a, 802.11g and 802.11n in the final production. The
802.11n commission is still working its way through final draft specifications,
but by the time Santa Rosa is ready in 2007, the finalized specification should
not be a problem.

A ship date has not been set for the new Merom CPUs yet, but we do know the
pricing slated for launch. Intel has added a fifth bin CPU to the lineup
since our last roadmap, giving Merom seekers the ability to snag the Core 2 Duo
processor for under $210.

Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile Launch

Processor

Clock

FSB

Cache

Price

Intel C2D T7600

2.33GHz

667MHz

4MB

$637

Intel C2D T7400

2.16GHz

667MHz

4MB

$423

Intel C2D T7200

2.0GHz

667MHz

4MB

$294

Intel C2D 5600

1.83GHz

667MHz

2MB

$240

Intel C2D 5500

1.66GHz

667MHz

2MB

$209

Intel partners have confirmed to us that the Merom
processors will require a BIOS update for the notebook when upgrading from a
Core Duo Yonah system. Furthermore, Intel will still launch a Core Duo (Yonah)
CPU this June 25th with a 2.33GHz clock. Notebook manufacturers will
continue to use Core Duo processors in notebooks even after Core 2 Duo's
introduction.

Intel's projections claim that by December of 2006 Merom will account for 35%
of all Intel shipped mobile CPUs, and that dual core processors will account
for 90% of all notebook CPUs.

Comments

Threshold

Username

Password

remember me

This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled